Microsoft heads into its Build developer conference this week armed with a new managed blockchain service that joins the Azure cloud environment with J.P. Morgan’s Quorum, an enterprise-grade distributed ledger technology based on Ethereum.

The Lowdown: The new Azure Blockchain Service handles all of the back-end fuss of blockchain implementations, serving up not only installation and provisioning, but also patching, updating, governance templates, and a suite of application-development tools.

The Details: The fully managed service should allow enterprises to begin rolling out applications such as smart contracts based on cryptographically secured, distributed ledgers with fewer governance headaches, less concern about infrastructure overhead, and significantly less capital investment.

The Impact: According to officials, JPM and Microsoft will continue to work together to address common enterprise, ISV, and developer needs for building and deploying blockchain applications on Quorum in the cloud. Microsoft will also provide engineering, consulting, and go-to-market support for Quorum.

Background: In addition to providing a platform for Quorum customers to build blockchain networks and applications, Quorum will continue to power JPM and Microsoft blockchain programs and first-party apps, such as the Interbank Information Network, JPM Coin, and Microsoft’s Xbox royalty payment process, among others.

The Buzz: “We are incredibly proud of the success Quorum has had over the last four years, as organizations around the world use Quorum to solve complex business and societal problems via blockchain solutions,” said Umar Farooq, global head of blockchain at J.P. Morgan. “We are delighted to partner alongside Microsoft as we continue to strengthen Quorum and expand capabilities and services on the platform. Azure will bring unique strengths to enterprise clients using Quorum.”

“As digital transformation extends beyond the walls of an individual organization, companies need solutions that enable them to securely share their business processes and data in order to drive imaginative new business models and reinvent industries. We’re thrilled to partner with a leader like J.P. Morgan to establish a foundation on which enterprises and partners can rapidly build and scale blockchain networks,” said Peggy Johnson, Microsoft’s executive vice president of business development. “Together, we’re taking a truly transformative technology like Quorum and making it available through the Azure platform to accelerate innovation for our customers.”